LSV Asset Management Acquires 738,860 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 53.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,123,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 738,860 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 3.41% of Central Garden & Pet worth $61,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 239.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of CENTA opened at $34.57 on Friday. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52 week low of $25.97 and a 52 week high of $37.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.